These plays represent three phases in the career of the dramatist Girish Karnad, all three are classics of the Indian stage. The first play, Tughlaq, is a historical play in the manner of nineteenth-century Parsee theater. The second, Hayavadana was one of the first modern Indian plays toemploy traditional theatrical techniques. In Naga-Mandala, the third play, Karnad turns to oral tales, usually narrated by women. This selected work of one of India's best known playwrights should attract the attention of students and scholars of comparative literature, or any reader interested inSouth Asian literature.

Karnad Is Regarded As One Of The Three Great Writers Of The Contemporary Indian Drama, The Other Two Being Vijay Tendulkar And Badal Sircar. His Significant Plays Include Yayati, Tughlaq, Naga-Mandala, Tale-Danda And Hayavadana. The Book, Comprising More Than Thirty Scholarly Papers, Offers A Critical Appraisal Of Karnad As A Dramatist And Provides Varied Perspectives On His Major Plays.

Girish Karnad was one of modern India's greatest cultural figures: an accomplished actor, a path-breaking director, an innovative administrator, a clear-headed and erudite thinker, a public intellectual with an unwavering moral compass, and above all, the most extraordinarily gifted playwright of his times. This Life at Play, translated from the Kannada in part by Karnad himself and in part by Srinath Perur, covers the first half of his remarkable life - from his childhood in Sirsi and his early engagement with local theatre, his education in Dharwad, Bombay and Oxford, to his career in publishing, his successes and travails in the film industry, and his personal and writerly life. Moving and humorous, insightful and candid, these memoirs provide an unforgettable glimpse into the life-shaping experiences of a towering genius, and a unique window into the India in which he lived and worked.

A Yakshagana folk theatre piece, combining music, dance and drama. Two young heroes, Devadatta, a man of the intellect, and Kapila, a man of the body, are both attracted to Padmini, who marries Devadatta. When the rivalry threatens their friendship each man commits suicide by cutting off his own head. Through the intervention of the goddess Kali the men are brought back to life but Padmini accidently mixes the heads up, attaching them to the wrong bodies. A subplot fleshes out the theme of the search for completeness: Hayavadana wants to lose his horse's head and become fully human.

Yayati, Girish Karnard's first play, was written in 1960 and won the Mysore State Award in 1962. It is based on an episode in the Mahabharata, where Yayati, one of the ancestors of the Pandavas, is given the curse of premature old age by his father-in-law, Shukracharya, who is incensed by Yayati's infidelity. Yayati could redeem this curse only if someone was willing to exchange his youth with him. It is his son, Pooru, who finally offers to do this for his father. The play examines the moment of crisis that Pooru's decision sparks, and the dilemma it presents for Yayati, Pooru, and Pooru's young wife.

In this book Brian Crow and Chris Banfield provide an introduction to post-colonial theatre by concentrating on the work of major dramatists from the Third World and subordinated cultures in the first world. Crow and Banfield consider the plays of such writers as Wole Soyinka and Athol Fugard and his collaborators from Africa; Derek Walcott from the West Indies; August Wilson and Jack Davis, who write from and about the experience of Black communities in the USA and Australia respectively; and Badal Sircar and Girish Karnad from India. Although these dramatists reflect diverse cultures and histories, they share the common condition of cultural subjection or oppression, which has shaped their theatres. Each chapter contains an informative list of primary source material and further reading about the dramatists. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of theatre and cultural history.

The book attempts to study the plays of Girish Karnad in the contemporary context.